A truly free market exploits the weak and defenceless | the big issue
I found the collection of comments on capitalism last Sunday fascinating ("Is capitalism at a crossroads?", In Focus). The contribution by Ruth Lea represents the sort of thing we are likely to hear from the Conservatives at the next election. It's so full of unsupported statements ("sound management of the public finances"? Oh, please) it would be difficult to know where to start, but, shouted loudly enough, it will certainly resonate with many people on the right.
However, there are a few simple, commonsense truths we should keep in mind. First, Labour is not planning to abolish capitalism. Attempts to do that in the last century were disastrous failures and North Korea and Venezuela continue to provide stark warnings. But capitalism is a necessary answer for the efficient production of wealth, not a sufficient one.
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